Auto Industry Worried About Gen Y Ditching V-8 for 4G

This Gen Y-er seems happy about getting her new car — but would she rather just have Internet service and an iPad?

It’s a mobile world, but not the way the previous generation thinks.

The rise of our Internet culture combined with the decline in the economy are changing young buyers’ desire for machines that offer real mobility … the car! According to Bloomberg, in the last five years we’ve seen a six percent drop in sales among the 18-34 demo segment.

Even driver’s license numbers are down!

That’s crazy to us — as much as we love our computers and phones, our love for the automobile is hardly diminished.

With big auto companies such as Ford and Toyota fighting to get the attention of the 20- to 24-year-old age market, they have gone as far as to produce a line of cars that would appeal to this audience. Toyota created the Scion brand in hopes that these Generation Y buyers would buy in — but that hasn’t seemed to happen.

Instead these youngsters see a car as a secondary purchase, there is a greater need for a cellphone and personal computer, and clearly they will only settle for the top-of-the-line gadgets — like Jordan Wesolek, front-office worker from Chicago, who says he pays $300 a year for Internet service and is saving his extra cash for a $2,199 MacBook Pro. The cost of the computer, plus what he is paying monthly for Internet service, would easily make the payments for a vehicle — but that isn’t a priority for him.

So what do you think — could you make it without your beloved vehicle as long as you had your smartphone and other gadgets to replace it?

Check out the full article on the battle between 4G and V-8 from Bloomberg here:

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3 responses to Auto Industry Worried About Gen Y Ditching V-8 for 4G

No? That’s insanity! Since when do smartphones have wheels? I gotta get places, and after years of languishing in NYC, I love having my driving machine back – I can get wherever I want at my own speed, in private, with my own music. There’s no other way to go for me! I heart my car! (And my smartphone!)